# Is "The Winning of the West, Vol. I" by Theodore Roosevelt a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Winning of the West, Vol. I by Theodore Roosevelt (G. P. Putnam's Sons, The Knickerbocker Press, 1889) is identified by: Putnam's Sons, The Knickerbocker Press, 1889, small octavo, collating [xiv], 352 pages, bound in green boards with a leather spine lettered in gilt, with maps (including folding maps) affixed to the rear panel rather than bound in as leaves.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, The Knickerbocker Press, 1889, small octavo, collating [xiv], 352 pages, bound in green boards with a leather spine lettered in gilt, with maps (including folding maps) affixed to the rear panel rather than bound in as leaves
- Volumes I and II of the projected multivolume history were published together in 1889, subtitled "From the Alleghanies to the Mississippi, 1769-1776"; the remaining volumes followed through 1896, so a first-edition set is properly matched by consistent Putnam/Knickerbocker Press imprints and green-and-leather binding across all four volumes
- This was Roosevelt's first sustained work of history, following his two earlier ranching narratives, Hunting Trips of a Ranchman
- and Ranch Life and the Hunting-Trail
- , and drawing on the Western experience of his mid-1880s years ranching on the Little Missouri in Dakota Territory
- Publisher imprint reads G. P. Putnam's Sons, The Knickerbocker Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Theodore Roosevelt |
| Publisher | G. P. Putnam's Sons, The Knickerbocker Press |
| Year | 1889 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, The Knickerbocker Press, 1889, small octavo, collating [xiv], 352 pages, bound in green boards with a… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, The Knickerbocker Press, 1889, small octavo, collating [xiv], 352 pages, bound in green boards with a leather spine lettered in gilt, with maps (including folding maps) affixed to the rear panel rather than bound in as leaves. Volumes I and II of the projected multivolume history were published together in 1889, subtitled "From the Alleghanies to the Mississippi, 1769-1776"; the remaining volumes followed through 1896, so a first-edition set is properly matched by consistent Putnam/Knickerbocker Press imprints and green-and-leather binding across all four volumes. This was Roosevelt's first sustained work of history, following his two earlier ranching narratives, Hunting Trips of a Ranchman (1885) and Ranch Life and the Hunting-Trail (1888), and drawing on the Western experience of his mid-1880s years ranching on the Little Missouri in Dakota Territory.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Winning of the West, Vol. I* by Theodore Roosevelt a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-winning-of-the-west-vol-i
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.